2012 PBA Philippine Cup Semifinals Roundup: December 27-28, 2012 AND The Top Stories of 2012

San Mig
Coffee survived Game 5 against the Elasto-Painters, while the Tropang Texters
found a way to neutralize the Aces. Both series will end in 2013.

Feel free to
read the nicely-written game recaps by Rey Joble further down in this post. For
now, however, let’s look back at the year that was and the biggest news bits
from PBA.

Powerade and Rain or Shine -- Rise of theUnderdogs: In the 2010-2011 season, the Coca-Cola/Powerade Tigers and the
Rain or Shine Elasto-Painters combined for a total of just 25 wins out of 71
games. Not a lot of people were expecting them to burst through the 2011-2012
season as title contenders, but that’s exactly what they were able to do.

Bolstered by
the entry of several impressive rookies, Marcio Lassiter and JV Casio of
Powerade and Paul Lee of ROS, both teams advanced deep into the 2011-2012
Philippine Cup Playoffs by eliminating higher-seeded opponents. They then faced
off in the semifinals, which went all the way to seven games. The Tigers, led
by the sniping of veteran Gary David, won the rubber match, 107-98, to barge
into the Finals opposite the powerhouse Talk N Text squad. The Tigers
eventually lost to the deeper Texters, but their emergence did not go
unnoticed. The Tigers were to be a feared team all throughout the rest of the
season.

Gary David caught fire throughout the whole 2011-2012season of the PBA.

In contrast,
the Painters’ semifinal exit seemed to light a fire in them that burned
brightly and culminated in their glory-filled 2012 Governors’ Cup run. Coach
Yeng Guiao’s crew, backstopped by Best Import winner Jamelle Cornley, won all
but one game in the eliminations before advancing outright to the Championship
round with a 10-4 slate after the semis.

Facing the
Painters were the B-Meg Llamados, and it was a Championship series to remember.
ROS went up 3-1 after beating B-Meg, 94-89, in Game Four, but the Llamados
surged in the next two matches to force a Game Seven. Cornely led the Painters
in this deciding encounter with 20 points and 14 rebounds, while Jeff Chan
emerged as the Finals MVP.

The leaders of
Powerade and ROS – Gary David, Gabe Norwood, and Jeff Chan – were eventually
assimilated into the revamped Smart-Gilas roster that won the 2012 Jones Cup. Strangely
enough, the Tigers eventually blew up their roster (see below) by trading away
Marcio Lassiter, JV Casio, and Sean Anthony, but the Painters remained solid
moving into the new PBA season.

B-Meg and Denzel Bowles: Denzel Bowles
wasn’t the most well-known import in the 2012 Commissioner’s Cup, but when the
dust settled after Game Seven of the Finals against TNT, Bowles became a
household name. Some were even clamoring for him to be naturalized as a
potential replacement for the aging Marcus Douthit.

This was all
warranted, of course, as Bowles bowled over (puns are fun!) the fans with his
grit and undying effort. He was one of the youngest imports in that conference
and yet he played with such poise. The former James Madison University Duke Dog
hit two pressure-packed free throws at the end of regulation to send Game Seven
to overtime, where he poured in 11 points to seal the Llamados’ stirring
comeback.

Ever the
emotional young buck, Bowles had this to say after clinching the title, “I’ve
never been in this situation before, but these shots were the biggest shots of
my career. I’m glad that I got an opportunity to win a championship. I know my
mom is crying now, because this victory is a breakthrough for my family.”

Retiring #7: A true legend will always
command the respect of the people around him, no matter the gap in status or
generation. That was manifested in the jersey number retirement ceremony
honoring former Senator and Ginebra icon Robet Jaworski last July 8. From that
point on, no other player will be allowed to wear #7 – a sign of respect for
the achievements put forth by Jaworski in his storied career.

During the
ceremony, it was crystal clear how Jawo was still capable of putting everyone
under his spell. As my colleague, Josiah Albelda of Rebound Magazine and
Rappler.com, observed, “a male fan shouted ‘I love you’ while Jawo was taking
the stage, and he fired back with his own ‘I love you, too.’” Needless to say,
the fans erupted in cheer and laughter.

Only the
Living Legend, Robert Jaworski, can get away with something like that.

Mark Caguioa is MVP: In some ways, we
can consider Caguioa the successor to Jawo’s Ginebra kingship. Like Jawo,
Caguioa is a supremely gifted baller, and, though he is nowhere near Jawo’s
level in terms of charisma, he still has a big enough personality to keep the
Ginebra fans loyal.

Nicknamed
“The Spark,” Caguioa has had a colorful career studded with awards and
citations, including being recognized as the 2001 Rookie-of-the-Year, but the
one thing that has always escaped him is being named Most Valuable Player.

Though his
team never made it past the semifinals of any conference last season, Caguioa put
up great numbers, norming 16.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 41
games for Ginebra. He joined fellow MVP hopefuls Gary David, James Yap, Arwind
Santos, and Ranidel De Ocampo in the PBA’s Mythical First Team.

*Trades and More Trades: Several blockbuster
deals made heads turn in the middle of 2012:

- April 20,
2012: In a surprising move, the Powerade Tigers sent Celino Cruz and Marcio
Lassiter to Petron while they received 2011 Rookie of the Year Rabeh
Al-Hussaini, Rey Guevarra, and Lordy Tugade. This was the first peculiar step
in Powerade blowing up its core.

- August 31,
2012: Alaska, Barako Bull, Barangay Ginebra, new team Global Port, and Petron
Blaze were involved in a five-team trade that sent LA Tenorio to Ginebra, JV
Casio and Dondon Hontiveros to Alaska, Willie Miller to Global Port, Hans
Thiele and Wesley Gonzales to Petron Blaze, and Enrico Villanueva to Barako
Bull. With Casio and Lassiter out of Powerade, along with Doug Kramer, Sean
Anthony, and coach Bo Perasol, the Tigers, now renamed the Global Port Batang
Pier, were to start the new season composed mostly of new personnel.

When August
19’s draft ended, June Mar Fajardo of the Asean Basketball League’s San Miguel
Beermen became the top overall pick and went to Petron. Calvin Abueva of the
San Sebastian Stags, a do-it-all monster nicknamed “The Beast,” went to the
Alaska Aces as the #2 pick. Cliff Hodge, the high-flying former NLEX Road
Warrior and Sinag-Pilipinas stalwart, was drafted 4th overall after
Petron surprisingly chose Alex Mallari at #3.

Hodge
started the season as the most productive rookie, until Abueva finally donned
the Alaska jersey and HE took over the #1 rookie spot. Fajardo’s performance
has been inconsistent, and he was hobbled by injury, but the consensus is he
could be the next great big man in the PBA.

Japeth to the NBA D-League: Japeth
Aguilar, a former #1 pick in the PBA, was selected by the Sta. Cruz Warriors in
the seventh round of the 2012 NBA D-League Draft. This caused quite a stir among local hoop nuts, since it was the first time a Filipino was ever chosen
in the D-League. Most people became hopeful and supportive of Japeth, but there
were a few who expressed doubts about his skills and whether he was turning his
back on the PBA or National Team duties for the sake of the NBA dream.

In the end,
Japeth fell short of cracking the final roster of the Warriors, though they did
make him a practice player. Just recently, he was named by Gilas coach Chot
Reyes as one of the members of the team that would be sent to Dubai and Hong
Kong for the national team’s preparatory tournaments, but Japeth instead chose
to take his chances and face the possibility of playing in Europe.

PBA grows and grows: At the formal
launch of the PBA’s 38th season, Commissioner Chito Salud said, “We
had quite a year behind us. We are looking forward, and we are optimistic to
sustain the gains we had in the previous season.”

What gains?
Take a look:

- The league
grossed Php 114 million in gate receipts alone.

- The
attendance figures for the PBA games went up significantly, culminating in the
more than 21,000 people who watched Game 7 of the PBA Governors’ Cup.

- The league
seems to have more parity, with four teams vying in the three different
Conference Finals – Powerade, Rain or Shine, B-Meg, and Talk N Text. Eight of
the ten clubs were able to see semifinals action in at least one conference,
and all teams except the Shopinas.com Clickers/Air 21 Express were able to
advance past a conference’s elimination round at least once.

All these
bits of information reveal one thing: the PBA’s glory days are back!

This is the second in a series of posts
chronicling the “Top Stories of 2012.” The NBA’s top stories may be found here,
while those for FIBA and local amateur ball will follow soon!

Game Recaps:

SAN MIG COFFEE MIXERS over RAIN OR SHINE ELASTO-PAINTERS, 79-67

San Mig
Coffee’s campaign in the Philippine Cup wouldn’t be ending in 2012.

With their
backs against the wall, the Mixers grinded out a 79-67 victory over the Rain or
Shine Elasto Painters in their last game of the calendar year Saturday at the
SM Mall of Asia Arena to stay alive in their best-of-seven Philippine Cup
series.

“The New
Year’s celebration is the farthest thing from our minds right now,” said San
Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone.

The win cut
down San Mig Coffee’s series deficit, 3-2, and the Mixers did it despite
missing James Yap for most of the game due to foul trouble.

The San Mig
Coffee superstar was limited to just two points after playing just 23 minutes.
He picked up his fourth and fifth fouls in quick succession with still more
than nine minutes left in the third quarter, and did not check in until the
5:32 mark of the fourth quarter, when San Mig was already up, 71-62.

The rest of
the Mixers stepped up with their main man out of commission. Joe Devance
top-scored with 20 points, while Marc Pingris posted 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Peter June Simon and Mark Barroca took care of the perimeter game for San Mig
Coffee in Yap’s absence, scoring 16 and 11 points, respectively.

“They really
dug deep, they played heavy, heavy minutes,” said Cone.

Pingris,
Simon, and Barroca each played at least 41 minutes, with Devance logging 37.

Without its
top offensive weapon, San Mig Coffee turned to defense, limiting Rain or Shine
to just 32.9 percent shooting from the field. Only one Elasto Painter, Larry
Rodriguez, scored in double figures with 14 points.

Rain or
Shine’s top guns were silent from the field, with Paul Lee shooting 3-of-12 and
Jeff Chan, 1-of-8.

Cone said
San Mig Coffee’s only focus would be winning Game Six, which is set on
Thursday, January 3, at the same venue.

“They beat
us twice in a row. And we believe we can beat them twice in a row,” he said.

Marc Pingris stepped up big time when James Yapwas sidelined with foul trouble.

Larry Rodriguez, James Yap, and Gabe Norwood willall meet again in Game 6.

TALK N TEXT TROPANG
TEXTERS over ALASKA ACES, 99-95

Talk ‘N Text
used an explosive second quarter before holding steady in crunch time to defeat
Alaska, 99-95, in Game Five of their Philippine Cup semifinals series Sunday at
the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

The Tropang
Texters moved one game away from making their third straight appearance in the
Philippine Cup finals, posting a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

The two-time
defending champions broke loose in the second quarter, scoring 35 points to
turn a tight game into a 55-43 spread at the half. Ranidel De Ocampo, Larry
Fonacier, and Jimmy Alapag combined for 25 points over that stretch.

But Alaska
stayed within striking distance for most of the second half, cutting the
deficit to eight points, 79-71, at the end of the third quarter on a three-pointer
by Dondon Hontiveros.

The Aces
made their final move late, cutting the lead to just three points, 98-95, after
a 7-1 run capped by a putback by Gabby Espinas.